Hi, I am new here

My name is Karen and I am also a major back pain sufferer. I have several herniated discs and 4 facet joints that are messed up so I live with a lot of pain. Walking for me is a problem such as going to Walmart. If I go in there and just get what I am after it is not too bad but if hubby and I go in together and amble through the store by the time we get out of there I am in tears. Also if we have to wait in the checkout line, forget it, I can't stand in one place for more than a few minutes. Standing in one place causes burning, searing pain in my back and also it causes my left leg to go numb. I can't stand at the sink to wash dishes, peeling potatoes requires me to go and sit at the table to do it. To vacuum the house takes me 3-4 hitches at it, don't know why but vacuuming causes horrid pain in my back.

Sleeping is a big problem for me, I only sleep 3-4 hours at a time, the pain wakes me up but occasionally I will get a good night's sleep and then if I stay in bed too many hours I wake up in terrible pain that will remain with me for hours even after I get up and I have a very good mattress so it is not the bed, it is my back.

I am very limited in things I can do but I am lucky in that I can sit, I can sit and watch movies and other things while sitting down.

I hate being forced to live this way but don't have a lot of choice in the matter.

Hello,Karen.I'm Kasie and it's nice to meet you.Sorry for your pain but this is a good place here to talk about it because everyone totally understands.You hit the nail on the head when you speak about peeling potatos,vacuuming,washing dishes...all that causes me much pain as well.My doctor said my mri says I have degenerative disc disease and arthritis.I have also been told I have fibromyalgia and a pinched nerve.My right leg does the numb,painful and burning thing.I take 30mg of morphine sulfate every 12 hours which is not much and 3 lortab 10's in between for breakthru pain which is not much considering I have taken lortab for many many years here and there.I started taking Lyrica 3 weeks ago and boy has it helped with the burning in my leg and the waking up with numb tingling hands and feet are gone.The only thing I still have a problem with is my lower back and right in the middle of my back.I totally understand the happiness your ferrets bring you.My husband bought me a dog for my birthday last year.She's a chihuahua/jack russel mix and God do I love her.To me she's just another one of my kids which I have 3 of.My son is 18,a daughter thats 14 and another girl that is 10 which all need much attention.Anyway didnt mean to burn your ears off.Just wanted to say hello and I'm here for you.

Last edited by HBMod07; 03-03-2008 at 08:44 AM.
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Welcome! Hang around a while and you'll see that lots of posters here have some varied experiences and have a lot of good advice to offer.

I don't have back problems whatsoever and my back gets sore after vacuuming, so I can only imagine how you feel. If you think about it, vacuuming is a bad angle and is why it puts so much strain on the back....You may want to see if someone else can help you with that.

Yes I had been seeing a PM for the past 18 months but violated my contract when I accepted pain medicine from my dentist for an abscessed tooth and then again when I had 2 teeth pulled. I was lucky that I was able to find another and I see him the 16th of this month.

I just hate it so much living this way. I feel my future has been stolen from me, so much I can't do anymore; things I want to do, things I need to be doing such as taking care of my home, cooking, cleaning just like anyone else. I go to bed in pain and I wake up in pain and every minute in between I am in pain. Not much of a life if you ask me.

I just wanted to welcome you to the chronic pain board. I don't have a whole lot of problems with my back but I have injured it in the past. I have heard of a procedure and that it works well for people with certain back problems. I don't know if you or anyone else has heard of it but I thought that I would mention it and you can do your own search for info on it. It is called VAX-D and is supposed to work by slowly pulling and stretching your lower back which takes the pressure of the discs and therefore the nerves meaning much less pain. It may be a good idea to look into. Oh, I did forget that I do know of one person that had this done and went from taking quite a few narcotic medications to none that I know of. So he is definitely a successful patient when it comes to this one.

Last edited by Administrator; 03-23-2008 at 10:10 PM.
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I always say "I would be willing to do anything not to be in pain especially if it meant I could get off some of my meds". Believe me I have tried many, many things to help with my chronic nerve pain in my feet. I have wasted a lot money in the process but I never wanted to say what if this or that had worked and I wasn't willing to try it. I can tell you though that this friend of mine probably does not take narcotics anymore since he is in narcotics anonymous with me and he is honest like I am about medications. I figure that if my back does get worse in the future I am willing to try it.

I have to say the more recent thing that I wasted my money on was a TENS unit but I do know that these are extremely helpful for people with back pain. I wish there was someway I could give it away to someone that could put it to good use instead of seeing it collect dust in my bedroom.